MOSCOW. Nov 20 (Interfax-AVN) - A Russian lawmaker said on Tuesday Russia should establish relations with each NATO member, not with the alliance in general.
Andrei Nikolayev, chairman of the defense committee in the State Duma lower house of parliament, told Interfax-Military News Agency on Tuesday.
The scheme proposed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair that envisages Russia's involvement in NATO programs as well as its participation in decision-making is currently the best one for Russia, Andrei Nikolayev, chairman of the defense committee in the State Duma lower house of parliament, told Interfax-Military News Agency. However the scheme is unlikely to satisfy all members of the alliance and primarily the United States.
All NATO decisions are coordinated and negative position of any member blocks the decision, Nikolayev said. If Russia is involved in the process there is no way to evade such situations, he added. It is not because Russia will do something just to cause irritation of the U.S, Great Britain or other NATO member nations but because it has its own interests which are different from those of NATO members.
Taking the current situation into account Russia should better to develop relations with each NATO member individually, not with the alliance as a whole, the lawmaker said.
Poland, Canada, Hungary and Great Britain have different policies though they are all members of the same alliance, and it will be easier for Russia to find points of contact, cooperation and partnership with each separate country than with the whole alliance, Nikolayev stressed.